Tag Archives: King Street East

The red-brick Gooderham Building at 49 Wellington Street East is located at the confluence of Wellington Street East, Front Street East, and Church Street, in the St. Lawrence Market area. The present-day building is the second structure that has existed on this small triangular piece of land. The original building on the site was constructed in 1845, and was smaller than the one that exists there today, it having only three-storeys. It was a part of the Wellington Hotel on nearby Church Street, and was referred to as the Coffin Block as the land on which it was built was similar to that of a coffin. The odd shape occurred because the streets of the early-day town of York (Toronto) had been laid-out on a grid pattern, but the straight lines were slanted to accommodate the curve of the shoreline of Lake Ontario.

This photograph from the City of Toronto Archives (Series 1244, It. 7335-1) was taken in 1883. It shows the original three-storey Coffin Block, built in 1845. There is a three-storey bank across the street from the building, on the right-hand side of the photo. It is the structure with the imposing portico.

This is the building that is presently on the site. The photo from the City of Toronto Archives (Fonds 124, Fl.0124, Id.0065) was likely taken in the early 1970s, since one of the towers of the TD Centre is evident in the background.The top of the Royal York Hotel is on the left-hand side of the picture. There is no CN Tower visible, as it was not completed until 1976.

This photo from the City of Toronto Archives (Fonds 124, Fl.0124, Id.0025) gazes east along Front and Wellington Streets. In the picture, the Gooderham building is isolated. Beside it on its western side, there are only parking lots, and where the condo Market Square now exists, is another large parking lot. The St. Lawrence Hall is in the upper left-hand corner of the picture. The South Market Building of the St. Lawrence Market can be seen on the south side of Front Street. The old North Market Building is also evident, which was demolished in the late-1960s.

The Story of The Gooderham Building

In 1837, William Gooderham and his brother-in-law William Worts founded a distillery. By the 1890s, it was the largest producer of spirits in Canada. In the early 1890s, George Gooderham, the eldest son of William Gooderham, purchased the Coffin block to construct a new headquarters for the Gooderham and Worts Distillery. He ordered that the building on the old Coffin Block be demolished. He hired David Roberts Junior (1845-90) as his architect, and at a cost of $18,000, instructed that a four-storey building be erected, which was completed in 1892. In the basement, the windows were partially above ground, creating an extra level. The design of Gooderham’s building was the inspiration for the famous Flatiron Building in New York City, built in in 1902.

Toronto’s Gooderham Building is Romanesque in design, with traces of Gothic. The cornice above the fourth floor has a wealth of intricate Romanesque designs. Above the cornice is a steeply-sloped roof that was originally covered with copper, although the copper has since been removed. The roofline is broken by eight peaked gable windows, four on the north side of the building and four on the south. On the east side, the apex of the triangular shape is rounded and topped with a pointed tower, its top still sheathed in copper. The building has several entrances, but the main entrance is on its north side, on Wellington Street.

Interestingly, a tunnel was built under Front Street that connected the Gooderham Building to the bank across the road on Front Street. It allowed large amounts of cash to be safely transferred between the buildings without being seen from the street. The bank building can be seen in one of the above pictures placed in this post. Also, the first manually-operated Otis elevator was installed in the Gooderham Building.

The Gooderham Building was the headquarters of Gooderham and Worts Distillery until 1952. In 1975, it was officially declared a Heritage site. The building was restored in the late-1990s, and remains coveted as office space. Its rooms, with their 12-foot ceilings, are ideal for companies that wish to rent space in an historic property.

View of the Gooderham Building in April of 2013, gazing west along Front Street.

Views of the apex of the triangular building, the top crowned with a copper-sheathed tower.

The Front Street facade, the iron fire escape attached to the red-brick wall. In the basement, which is partially above ground, there is a pub. (Photo, July 2013).

View of the top of the building, with the ornate cornice and the copper-sheathed pointed tower.

The Romanesque ornamentations in the cornice.

Impressive main entrance on Wellington Street, with its Romanesque surround.

Architectural detailing on the building, with the date of its completion.

The west facade of the Gooderham Building, containing the mural by Derek Besant, painted in the autumn of 1980. It is a mirror image of the Perkins Building across the street. It creates the illusion that there are windows on the west facade of the Gooderham Building.

Recent publication entitled “Toronto’s Theatres and the Golden Age of the Silver Screen,” by the author of this blog.The publication explores 50 of Toronto’s old theatres and contains over 80 archival photographs of the facades, marquees and interiors of the theatres. It also relates anecdotes and stories from those who experienced these grand old movie houses.

Whether a person passes the St. Lawrence Hall on a streetcar, in an automobile, or simply walk to the market on Front Street, the building rarely fails to impress. It is one of the grandest historic structures in the city. The impetus for its construction began across the seas in Britain.

Following the coronation of Queen Victoria, the 1840s became an era when new ideas and a desire to create grand buildings seized the imagination of Britain. The attitude quickly spreading to various cities throughout the Empire. In 1849, in Toronto, a disastrous fire. Beginning in a frame building and stable on George Street, it swept along King Street and the surrounding area. It eventually destroyed almost 15 acres of shops and homes, annihilating a large portion of the city. At its heights, the flames were evident as far away as St. Catharines.

Because it destroyed much of the northern section of the St. Lawrence Market complex, built in 1831, the city realized that they must rebuild the red-brick building on its King Street side. In the spirit of the age, civic politicians decided to rebuild the entire square and include a grand concert hall at its north end.

They hired William Thomas to design the hall. Born in Gloucestershire, England, he trained as an architect and engineer. Shortly after completing his education, he immigrated to Canada with his wife and ten children. In Toronto, he designed St. Michael’s Cathedral and Bishop’s Palace in 1845. In future years, he would create the plans for the Brock Monument at Queenston Heights. However, many consider the St. Lawrence Hall his greatest achievement. It is one of the finest examples of Victorian classicism in Canada.

Thomas was influenced by the Italian Renaissance style. When the Hall was officially opened in 1851, it was admired for its elegance. Its ornate facade was crowned by a cupola that resembled a Roman temple. It contained clocks that faced the four points of the compass. At the front of the building, on the ground level of the four-story structure, were three archways. The central one provided access to the market shops and stalls located within. The city’s coat-of-arms was carved in stone on the front facade, where ornate pilasters separated the arches.

On the second floor, which contained offices, Corinthian pilasters ornamented the facade. The third storey possessed a hall that held 1000 people. The fourth floor was beneath a French Mansard roof, designed to prevent the heavy snow of Canadian winters from piling up on the structure.

The St. Lawrence Hall in 1867, photo Ontario Archives, 10005329 (1)

The north (front) facade of the St Lawrence Hall on King Street, with its three grand archways and detailed stone carvings. A functioning replica of an old gas lamp is on the sidewalk in front of the building.Photo 2011.

North and east facades of the St. Lawrence Hall.

The grand hall on the third floor was enormous for its day. The richly ornamented plaster ceiling soared 34 feet above the wooden floor, its upper windows located in the Mansard roof. The dimensions of the room were 100 feet by 38 feet, 6 inches. A huge crystal chandelier, lit by gas, illuminated the space, along with numerous gas sconces along the walls. A gallery was along the north side of the room to provide extra seating.

Ornate ceiling and crystal chandelier in the grand ballroom, photo taken in 1969.

For over seventy-five years, until replaced by Massey Hall, the St. Lawrence Hall was Toronto’s main cultural centre. The St. Lawrence Hall hosted some of the most important personages of the nineteenth century, including John A. Macdonald and George Brown.

Festival balls, banquets, bazaars, magicians, soirees, and minstrel shows were held within its walls. People gathered for Shakespearean readings and plays, oratorios, operas, and musical concerts. Handel’s Messiah was first performed in the hall in 1857, and though a few of the 200 singers were from outside the city, the remainder were residents. Cycloramas, panoramas, and travelogues delighted the public. Jenny Lind, the famous Swedish singer filled the hall in 1851 on two successive evenings, even though the lowest-price tickets were the exorbitant price of $3.00 per person. Lectures on slavery, spiritualism, immigration, phrenology, and anatomy fascinated the crowds.

View of the third floor area outside the grand hall.

As the population of the city increased, and the city’s boundaries expanded, the area around the St. Lawrence Hall became less accessible. When Massey Hall opened in 1894, the cultural activities of the city gravitated to the new and larger venue on Shuter Street.

In 1967, The St. Lawrence Hall was restored as the city’s centennial project. While the restoration was in progress, the east wall of the building collapsed onto Jarvis Street. However, it was faithfully restored and today the structure appears as elegant as the day it first opened.

The hall shortly after its restoration in 1967.

Rear (south) side of the St. Lawrence Hall, when the north market was under construction.

Recent publication entitled “Toronto’s Theatres and the Golden Age of the Silver Screen,” by the author of this blog.The publication explores 50 of Toronto’s old theatres and contains over 80 archival photographs of the facades, marquees and interiors of the theatres. It relates anecdotes and stories of the author and others who experienced these grand old movie houses.